Secrets of a Cowboy
by Crackers414
Summary: What if Jasper has a secret? A big, major secret named Elizabeth? He thought she was gone, but what if she's not? Sorry for the icky summary. Please try it out, it probably isn't what you think. T for paranoia, K people can probably carefully read it.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I owe this wonderful idea to a certain New York Country. So, three cheers for her! (Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!) Now, on with the story! DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Twilight or any characters from Twilight. I own a few OC characters, that's all.**

There are some things that no one – And I mean no one, not even Edward or Alice – know about me. For instance, the fact that I had another wife before my beloved Alice. Or about the fact that I had a child, a beautiful baby girl, also with this woman. This lady's name was Annabelle Whitlock, or before we were married, Annabelle Jones. I loved her, I truly did, but it was a different sort of love than the one I have with Alice. What Alice and I have is something truly remarkable, something that no one can fully grasp unless they, too, have a mate. But enough of my musing. Sometimes, I still like to remember the foggy memories I have of Annabelle and our daughter. It'd not much, but it can be nice to remember them. Our daughter's name was Elizabeth, or Beth or Bethy for short. . . She was named after Annabelle's grandmother on her mother's side. . .

Suddenly, Alice jolted me from my thoughts. "Jasper, are you alright?" She asked, frowning. "It's nothing. Just thinking, that's all." I replied, extremely glad Edward wasn't around; sometimes, having a member of the family who could read minds was really a pain in my neck. Sometimes I envied Bella, not having Edward hearing her thoughts unless she wanted him to. Oh, I suppose I should mention we're in Alaska with the Denalis. It's been fifty years since Bella was turned. Jacob and Renesmee are visiting, but they're all out hunting, Jake accompanying them. They did have a lot to talk about – Jacob and Renesmee were going to get married. I sighed, going over to the window, Alice following. "Jasper, I think you should hunt. You haven't for a while, and school starts tomorrow. Speaking of which, have you heard? There's going to be a new girl. . ." I let Alice's chatter fade to background noise. She was right – I should hunt. And I would. . . After I satisfied the compelling urge go look at the single picture I had of Annabelle and Beth. An artist had been kind, and drawn their portrait for me, then mine for them. It was right before that fateful evacuation, and I had been able to visit them for one week for my twentieth birthday. One of the best weeks of my entire life, although I confess I don't remember much about it. I smiled at Alice. "Alright, I'll go hunt. I'll meet you by the boulder, alright? I want to do something. It'll only take a second." I told her, pressing my lips to her short spiky hair. I waited for her nod, then I ran up to our room and walked over to a shelf, pulled out a motorcycle magazine, and quickly went through the pages until I reached page forty-four. Then I slowly, almost reverently, turned the page and looked at the one picture I had of my former family. Beth was one year old in this picture, and her mother was holding her. Annabelle was looking tenderly at her, a small sad smile on her pretty face. Even though I could remember every detail about this picture, I still liked to look at the actual drawing. I smiled wistfully, then carefully shut the magazine and put it back on the shelf, and ran to meet Alice.

**Hey, look, I'm a LINEBREAK! 'Cause guess what? This is the prologue (Above) and Chapter one (Below)!**

The next day at school I didn't pay much attention. I was thinking about the strange scent Alice and I had found while out hunting. For some reason, it seemed slightly familiar to me. Oh, there was that ear-shattering bell. Wincing, I stood up, grabbed my bags, and headed out of the classroom. Time for free period. Well, technically, it's the 'study period' but what am I supposed to study? I was joined by a very anxious Rosalie and Emmett right outside the library door. They grabbed my arms and hauled me off to our usual table in the corner of the library. "What? What is it? Let go!" I demanded in a quiet tone, annoyed. The pair let go and I sat down, then asked, "Well, what is so all-fired important that you have to grab me and practically drag me – Which you BOTH know I don't like – over here?" I asked again with a huff. "Sorry, Jasper. Rose's orders." Emmett apologized, with a small grin. "I should have known." I groaned, then turned to Rosalie, who looked like she was about to burst. "Well? What is it?" Rosalie gave a small, dainty, utterly fake cough. "Well, actually, Bella told me that Edward wants to talk to you in free period so I needed to make sure you're here. I'm sorry, Jazzy." She apologized, straightening her shirt self-consciously. I sighed. "What the hell is going on?!" I rhetorically asked. They shrugged, and then cast a small glance at each other. They _were_ sorry, I could tell that, but otherwise they weren't entirely truthful. They knew what was up. I huffed again, stood up, and was about to leave when Bella and Edward appeared, both anxious. "Took you long enough." I growled. "Now, what is it?" Bella answered me. "Jasper, remember that scent you and Alice crossed last night?" I nodded, and she continued. "Well, it's another vegetarian!" She said excitedly, and I frowned. There _were _no other vegetarians. At least, none that we knew of. "Is there a coven, or is she or he a nomad? How do you know this information?" I asked, wondering at Bella's excitement, Rosalie's nervousness, Emmett's strange thoughtfulness, Edward's puzzlement, and Alice's- Wait, Alice?! What was this? Why was my family ganging up in the library in THIS particular period? "Alice. What is going on that is so important that all of you are skipping Biology, PE, and Science?" I asked acidly. Bella answered. Again. "Jazz, it's a she, and we've all seen her. The last two periods, in fact." _'Why am I always the last to know these things? I was the last to know about Bella, the last to know about Renesmee, the last to know that we're moving to Alaska. . . The list goes on and on!'_ I thought with a spark of irritation, noting the flicker of amusement that crossed Edward's face – and emotions - at my thoughts. "Well, you can go now. I really don't see why you had to gang up me now, when you could just tell me at lunch." They rolled their eyes at my reply, and left. Well, except Rose and Emmett, who got out their note books and started doodling. I joined them, and was just finishing a nice drawing of Alice's face when someone mentioned shopping when the bell rang. Joy. Time for lunch period. How humans eat such disgusting food, I don't know.  
>As my two siblings and I walked into the cafeteria, five minutes later, I grimaced. All teenager cafeterias are hell for empaths. Quickly straightening my facial expression, I got my food and sat down in my usual seat. Then, the owner of the strange, slightly familiar scent walked into the cafeteria. I turned in my seat, looking. Then I saw <em>her.<em> Blonde hair the same color as my own fell to her waist. Her golden eyes were the same shape as Annabelle's. Her lips also resembled her mother's, but her nose and chin were the mirror image of mine. She was laughing, joking with a girl named Carrie Stancliff. My throat tightened, and that was when she noticed me. Her eyes were curious, searching. I stood up, turned to my family, and said. "I got a really bad stomach ache and went home." They were looking at me curiously. Alice asked, "Jazzy, are you okay? Is something wrong about Elizabeth?" I quit breathing. Edward was staring at me, and then gave a small nod of his head. My thoughts weren't making any sense. That nod told me to go. I turned and left, pausing at the door to the cafeteria to look once more on the vampire called Elizabeth. She was still watching me, and I turned and left, walking with quick, measured steps, forcing myself not to run. I heard steps behind me, and forced myself to breathe. Oh, hell no. No, no, no, this couldn't be happening. I walked out the glass door, looked back, and saw her turning the corner. I ran into the forest without another look back. I ran for about three hours, once even stopping and going back, until I heard that somebody was still following. I turned and just kept running. Suddenly, I gasped. Pain. That was all I felt. I swayed, then fell to my knees. Oh, dear Lord, put that person out of their misery. I found myself screaming wordlessly with the pain. I curled into a little ball, still screaming. Oh, it hurt. It hurt so badly. So, so, so badly. That was when I lost control of my senses, falling into the vampire state of unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well, chapter two of Secrets of a Cowboy! (And a small prologue from Beth's POV) I want to thank my friend Nyxy for help with the name, and encouragement. So, I'm saying, THANK YOU NYXY! YOU'RE THE BEST! I hope y'all like this story, and I'll stop blabbering now. Here's the disclaimer.  
>DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Twilight or any of its LOVELY characters – Stephanie Meyer does, and I'm not her. I'm also not a good a writer. All I own are a few OCs!<strong>

My name is Elizabeth Grace Whitlock. My mother was Annabelle Marie Whitlock, and my father was Major Jasper Lee Whitlock, the youngest Major in the Confederate Army. At the age of nineteen, I was turned into a vampire. Right now I'm living in a small, rather run-down shack in Alaska. Oh, and one important thing you need to know about me is that I don't drink people – I prefer animal blood. I don't think there's any other vampire in the world like me, but, to tell the truth, I don't really care. I'm ungifted, which is a little bit of a bummer, but I'm strong, even for a vampire. That's kind of cool, actually. Whenever anyone scoffs at my diet, I can always show them who's boss. . . . I was jolted from my thoughts by the smell of a moose. I grinned and ran towards the smell. After I was done, I buried the moose. It was respectful and helpful for the environment too. I idly ran around the countryside of Alaska for a bit, wondering what the new school I was going to would be like. I was changing my last name to Irving for this school. Whitlock is a little too recognizable. I was reflecting on names when I ran across the scent of a HUGE coven of vampires, and EW, what were those smells? Yuck! Disgusting. I remembered one smell from a very short stint in Forks, Washington, but not the other. . .

**HI, I'm back! Remember me, LINEBREAK? Because that's the short prologue for Elizabeth! Now for chapter two!**

I walked into home room, and almost jumped for joy. There, in the back of the classroom, were two golden eyed vampires! The only available seat was next to them, too. One was a male, with messy bronze hair. The other was a female, with shoulder length pretty brown hair. Then the teacher spoke up: "Class, this is Elizabeth Irving. I expect you all to welcome her. Bella, your next class is right across the hall from Elizabeth's. Will you walk there?" He asked. I looked around, wondering who 'Bella' was, and the female vampire spoke. "Of course, Mr. Bowman." She answered him. "Excellent, now, Elizabeth please take a seat next to Bella." He ordered me. I nodded, and quickly made my way over to the chair, and sat down, putting my book bag on the floor next to me. Bella whispered "Hi, I'm Bella Cullen and this is my mate, Edward." I smiled at her and whispered, "I'm Elizabeth Irving, but you already know that." Bella smiled back, and so did Edward. "So, you're vegetarian, like us?" He suddenly murmured, too quiet for human ears to hear. "Yes." I confirmed. After that, there wasn't any more conversation, and we sat in companionable silence. When the bell rang, Bella humped up and smiled at me. "Come on, I'll take you to your next class, and introduce you to Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie." She said in a bell like voice. I shoved my notebook back into my bag, since it was falling out, and waited a moment while she murmured a "See you later." To Edward and gave him a peck on the lips. As we set off down a hall, she said "Some of our family is talented. Edward can hear thoughts. Alice can see the future, based on your decisions. I have a mental shield, and- Rose! Em! Alice!" I wondered who she was going to say next, but I quickly noticed three vampires coming out of a classroom ahead of us. There were two females and a male. The male was big and burly, and looked stronger than me. One female was absolutely gorgeous, with long pale blonde hair. The other female was short and pixie-ish, with spiky black hair and a bounce in her extremely graceful step. They waved, and their eyes widened when they saw me. "Who is she, Bella?" The blonde asked. "This is Elizabeth Irving. Elizabeth, this is Rosalie" She indicted the blonde "Emmett" The big burly male "And Alice." The pixie, of course. "Hello, Elizabeth." They said in unison. Bella laughed, and the trio laughed with her. I smiled. "Hi, Rosalie, Alice, Emmett, it's nice to meet you." I said when the laughing stopped. We all walked down the hall, made a turn, walked ten feet, and there was Bella's next classroom. "See you later, Bella." I said. She smiled at me again, and then I turned and walked into our classroom, while Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie continued. It was Biology, with Ms. Jarrett. It was fun, believe it or not, and it passed quickly. I made a new friend, too: A girl named Carrie Stancliff. When I walked into the cafeteria with Carrie laughing at a joke she told me, I spotted the Cullen table right away. There was someone else sitting there too, a blonde male. He turned, and stared at me, with shock across his features. I stared back at him, intrigued. He reminded me of someone, or something. He turned to his siblings and said something, then left the cafeteria, pausing in the doorway to look at me again. I was by that time finished getting my food, and I decided to follow him. I set my food down, and pulled my phone out of my pocket, pretending to have gotten a text. "Aw, man! It's my mom. I have to go. See you tomorrow, Carrie!" Then I left the cafeteria, walking quickly. The man ahead of me wasn't running, just walking with quick, measured-sounding steps. . . He wasn't breathing, either. No, wait. He was breathing again. When I walked around a corner, I saw the door up ahead, and the man giving a quick look through. When he saw me, he ran towards the forest. I quickly followed, and we ran for a good three hours. I think he even started doubling back once, but I'm not sure.  
>Suddenly, I heard wordless screams of pain up ahead, and then they stopped. I ran even faster, and saw the vampire I had been chasing . . . curled into a ball, unconscious? No, that couldn't be right. We're vampires, for crying out loud! We just don't fall unconscious! I poked him with my foot. He didn't move. '<em>Oh, dear. This is bad. This is very, very bad.' <em>I thought, bending down and nudging him with my hand. Standing up, I sighed. This was going to be hard to explain to the Cullens, alright. I picked him up, and his head sagged, his wavy, unruly, chin length blonde hair falling off his face and revealing his strangely familiar features. I started running, every once in a while stopping to check on the comatose vampire I was carrying. He was still out when I got to the Cullen residence, and Alice came out, calling "Carlisle!" I wondered if this guy was Carlisle, or if it was someone I hadn't met yet, because this was surely the place I'd smelled last night. Wait, was it only last night? But then Alice reached me, dry sobbing. "Oh no, oh no, I knew it. Please don't let him be dead!" She moaned, taking him from me. "Carlisle!" she called again and I realized that she _must _be calling for someone in the house. We were now surrounded by vampires. "Alice, take him inside." A blonde vampire said. He had short, slicked back hair, and quiet, slightly British voice. "Yes, Carlisle. I'll take him to your study." Alice said, in a subdued voice, running inside the house. The male who must be Carlisle turned to me. "Are you the one who found him?" He asked me. I nodded, and bit my lip. "Did you see or hear anything?" Again, I nodded. "Yes, I heard him screaming, and then it stopped suddenly. When I found him, he was curled in a ball like that." Carlisle nodded, told me to stick around, and then ran in the house. Since I was now the only one left outside, I followed him. I didn't really look at the décor (I never do), and then I found Alice, who was very obviously distraught. "He'll be fine, right?" I asked. "Oh, Elizabeth, I'm so scared! The last time he was like this. . ." She trailed off, her eyes glazed over for a moment, and then she shot up and walked quickly across the hall, and opened the door there. I followed her after a moment, curious. Plus I didn't want to be by myself. "Carlisle, he's going to come to in fifty-three seconds." She trilled. Sure enough, in fifty three seconds he stirred, and Alice stroked his forehead. "I'm here, sweetheart. Are you okay?" She asked quietly. Carlisle and I slipped out quietly, shutting the door. "What happened to him? Will he be okay?" I asked, and the vampire's brow furrowed. "I have no idea what causes him to do this. It wasn't the first time. You say you heard him screaming?" He checked. "Yes. I don't know what caused it." Carlisle nodded. "I see. I'm Carlisle Cullen, by the way." He introduced himself, holding out his hand. I shook it. "Elizabeth. Elizabeth Whitlock." There wasn't much point in giving him my false name. Carlisle studied me. "That's funny. Elizabeth, do you know the name of my son?" He asked. I realized I didn't. Just then, we were swarmed by the other vampires. "Oh, Carlisle, is he alright?" A petite dark haired vampire asked. "Yes, Esme, our son will be fine. Elizabeth got him here just in time, thankfully." He replied. "Oh, thank you. Thank you so, so, so much. I'm Esme." The woman said, hugging me. I awkwardly hugged her back, slightly surprised. "You're welcome?" I replied, making it sound like a question. Soon, others were introduced to me. There was Tanya, Kate, Carmen, Eleazar, Garrett, Renesmee, and Jacob. We moved to the living room, Esme detached herself politely. She said she wanted to check on her son. Soon she came back with Alice. "He'll be here in just a minute." Alice said happily, skipping. She came over to me and hugged me. "Oh, thank so much, Elizabeth. I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't brought him back to us." Alice announced. Edward stood up and walked over to the doorway, giving the vampire standing there a hug_._ "I thought you might have been done for this time. I shouldn't have let you go off in that state." He said, standing back. "Edward, it's okay. I'm okay." His voice was a rich bass, definitely with a Southern twang. The vampires went over in one big crowd. But the shape shifter, I think he was Jacob, stayed back, and so did I. The girl Renesmee, I noted, was one of the first to jump up. "Uncle, I was so worried!" I heard her say. I looked at Jacob. "Did she just call him 'Uncle'?" I asked. He nodded. "Yeah, she's Bella and Edward's daughter." Seeing my confused look, he added, "She was conceived when Bella was still human. Bells stubbornly decided she wanted to keep her baby, so Edward and I used emergency vampirization – And even then, we were hard pressed to her stubborn heart beating." He shuddered at the memory. "That sounds awful." I replied. "Oh, it was." Edward said. "But it turned out fine in the end, although even though it saved our necks, Jake, I'm _still _not happy you _imprinted_ on Ness!" He sounded a little mad at the end, but Jacob laughed. I was interrupted from watching them when I felt someone watching me. Just then, Bella laughed. "Jasper, no fair! You're doing the mood thing again!" I felt like someone had just sucker punched me. I stood up, and said, "Well, I have to be going now. I'll be sure to stop in over the weekend. . ." With that, I left. _I just must be imagining things. Yeah, that's it! I overreacted. Jasper's a common name_. I told myself on the way home. But still, when I got to my little shack, I went to a box that I hadn't unpacked yet and looked through it until I found a little, yellowed, folded-up paper. I opened it, and gasped.

There, staring me in the face was Jasper Cullen.

I did the natural thing – Next morning, I took my picture and ran to the Cullen's home and knocked on the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N. And chapter three! Little bit of sweet fluff in this chapter, ****but also a little violence****! I have a few questions for y'all: Should I keep doing the chapters the way I have been? What did you think of the last two chapters? Good, bad, awesome, needs work, absolutely horrid? Am I moving too fast? Jasper POV and I hope you like it!  
>DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Twilight, or its characters! They are the lovely Stephanie Meyer's! All I own is a few OCs<strong>

The first thing I realized was that there wasn't any more pain. I turned my head, and heard Alice saying, "I'm here, sweetheart. Are you okay?" There was the sound of a door shutting. I blinked and sat up. "Oh, Alice, it hurt so badly. I don't know what happened. . ." I said, shaking my head, trying to get rid of the memory. Alice's sorrow and sympathy was affecting me slightly, too, but I didn't care. "Oh, Jazzy, I was so worried." She whimpered, climbing onto my lap. I smiled and held her. "It's okay now sweetheart. I'm fine now; I just need to be careful." I murmured. She laid her head against my chest, and I sighed. Poor Alice - I hated scaring her like this. The last time this happened, she wouldn't let me out of her sight for weeks! With reason, I admit. We sat and cuddled for a few more minutes, and then Esme came in. "Oh, Jasper! How are you feeling? Don't do that ever again! You scared me! Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!" She said, half scolding me and half relieved. She hugged me, then said, "Why don't you change clothes then come down? Everyone's worried." I looked at the muddy mess of my shirt and nodded. I was surprised Alice hadn't said anything, to be honest. "Yes, Esme, I'll be there in just a minute." I said, smiling at her and sending a wave of reassurance. She smiled back, and then she and Alice left. I stood up, and quickly ran to my room, grabbed a shirt, changed, and walked to the living room. Esme was right – Everyone _was_ worried. I stopped in the doorway and watched my family with a half smile on my face, unnoticed for the moment, and thought: _Hello, Edward. I'm sorry for running out in the middle of lunch earlier. I'll explain later._ Edward stood up and walked over to me. "I thought you might have been done for this time. I shouldn't have let you go off in that state." He told me, reaching forward and hugging me. I smiled and sent him a wave of calm – He definitely needed it. "Edward, it's okay. I'm okay." I said out loud, adding in my thoughts, _This time anyways. _Everyone got up and swarmed around me, Renesmee among the first. "Uncle, I was so worried!" She said as she hugged me. I smiled at her. "It's okay, Ness. I'm fine." I told her, sending a wave of calm to everyone. Bella laughed. "Jasper, no fair! You're doing the mood thing again!" I smiled at her and winked. Someone said, "Well, I have to be going now. I'll be sure to stop in over the weekend." I looked up, and saw blonde hair vanishing through the door. I was tempted to follow her, but I didn't. We all laughed and talked for a moment, and I asked carefully, "So, who brought me here?" Alice hesitated for a moment, and then said slowly, "Elizabeth. She left a few minutes ago. . ." I nodded, about to say something, when Jacob walked up. "So, you're alive." He said dryly, inwardly a little happy, but mostly resigned. To what, I don't know, and probably don't want to. We talked and joked until midnight, at which point I said, "There's something we need to talk about." They all looked at each other, confused, but sat down. I bit my lip and wondered idly where to start. "Jasper, is something wrong?" Edward asked. I sighed and shook my head no. "How to put this?" I asked myself. Then I looked at Alice, who smiled at me patiently. But I could feel her impatience bubbling underneath the surface. "It's about Elizabeth." I said finally. Esme asked, "Is there something wrong with her? What is it, Jasper?" I turned over several ways of saying that she was my daughter in my mind, noticing Edward's eyes widen. "Well, the thing is, I don't really know how to out this, but. . . She's my daughter." I watched their faces as they registered this. Edward was blinking as he shook his head, wanting to believe it, but not. Esme was covering shocked. Ness was just plain disbelieving, and so was Jake. Bella was happy; Rose was jealous, and not wanting to believe it. Emmett was enthusiastic, although I wasn't sure what about. Of course, Em was always enthusiastic. Carlisle was confused, the Denalis were definitely skeptical, and Alice was. . . . Happy? I'd blocked her until the end, for fear she'd be mad, but she was definitely happy, her face shining as she slipped her hand into mine. "I'm really happy for you, Jazzy. I've always been upset that I couldn't give you a child." She whispered, and smiled. I was shell shocked. "I thought you'd be mad." I told her, and she shook her head. Finally, Carlisle spoke up. "Jasper, would you please tell us how this happened?" He asked. I sighed. "Yes. Something that I've never told any of you is that I was married. I married Annabelle Jones when I was seventeen, and we were quite happy. I joined the Confederate Army later, as you know, and went home every chance I could. When I was nineteen, Annabelle wrote me and told me she was pregnant. Soon after, the baby was born, and we named her Elizabeth Grace. I was there for two weeks, then I had to leave again. I visited as often as I could." I paused, and let them think through that, and went and got the picture I had of Elizabeth and Annabelle. When I walked into the living room again, they were quiet. I handed the drawing to Alice. "When I was home for a week for my twentieth birthday, a passing artist drew this for me. He drew a picture of me for them, as well. That was right before the evacuation." I finished. Alice passed the picture along, and hugged me. "Jasper, why didn't you tell me? Us?" She asked, and I sighed. "Alice, honey, I didn't really want to talk about it for a while. It was too painful, too soon. After that, I just didn't want to. Really, it's a miracle that no one found out before with all our talents." I said, resting my chin on the top of her spiky hair. After that, no one except Alice talked to me for about two hours. Some were in shock, some were disbelieving, and Alice, Bella, and Carlisle knew I needed my space for a bit. I went to my room and was picking up a book that I hadn't read yet when Carlisle knocked on my partly open door. "Come in, Carlisle." I said, slightly surprised. He entered and walked over to me. "I just wanted to let you know a few things." I looked at him, perplexed. "Jasper, first of all, you almost died. Your brain couldn't handle the pain, so it almost completely shut down. It was the only thing it knew would stop the pain. I figured you may want to know what happened." I wasn't really surprised, but I let Carlisle go on. "Second, you are as much my son as Edward or Emmett – You know that, right? I love you as much as I do them, even though I wasn't the one who created you." Now, that one surprised me. I was always in the background, and content there. I was the one who simply watched. The time with the newborn army was a necessary exception. Carlisle smiled at me then got up and left. I looked at my book, and then sighed. I wasn't in the mood for reading any more. I wandered down the hall and down the stairs. I paused when I heard Alice and Bella talking about me. "I just wish Jasper would have told me sooner. I'm happy for him, of course, but I would have liked to know this, just so I could comfort him, and help him, and support him." I heard Alice say. Bella said, "Alice, maybe he didn't tell you because he was afraid you would be mad. Jazz always has his reasons." I abruptly about-faced and went back to my room. Maybe reading was a good idea after all. When I finished, it was about four in the morning, and I realized it was Saturday. I stood up and was walking out my bedroom door when I bumped into Emmett. "What do you think, you up for a rematch from Wednesday night?" He asked, and I grinned. "You're on." I replied, still grinning. I'd beaten Emmett Wednesday night, and he hadn't been very happy. His reaction had been hilarious, actually. There were a few less trees and rocks in that particular clearing now. When we got outside, Emmett grinned mischievously at me. "You're going down, bro." I laughed. "Oh? What makes you so sure? If I remember right, I seem to remember me beating you last Wednesday." Emmett growled and ran at me. I sidestepped and jumped into a nearby tree. Emmett laughed. "Jazz, I know where you are." I waited, allowing a grin to slip across my face. He walked to the base of my tree, and I jumped behind him. He turned, and swung a punch at me. I dodged, and threw one right back at Emmett. We continued for about an hour, laughing and having a good time, until Emmett made a mistake and lunged at me. I grabbed his torso and swung him down to the ground, landing Emmett flat on his back. "I believe I won." I said, grinning. "Oh, alright, you win this time." He growled. I laughed and helped him. "How about a rematch tomorrow?" Emmett grinned. "Meet you here at noon." We walked back to the house laughing and joking. The second we got inside, though, I came face to face with Alice. "Hi, darlin'. Did you have fun with the girl?" I greeted her. She smiled. "Hi, Jazzy, and yes, I did! Did you have a nice time?" She asked. I smiled. "Actually, yes, I did. Well, I'm glad you had fun." I replied. "He won _again_!" Emmett told her in a whiny voice. She laughed. "Well, I'm sure you'll win some time, Emmett." Emmett opened his mouth and was about to reply when someone knocked on the door. I was closest, so I opened it. It was Elizabeth. Her eyes widened, and she looked at a piece of paper as she came in. It gave her courage, no doubt about that. "Hello. I don't believe we were formally introduced. I'm Jasper Cullen; it's a pleasure to meet you." Her emotions were crazy: Nervousness, a little bit of anxiety, slight happiness, and confusion. Strange. "I'm Elizabeth Whitlock. It's nice to meet you, Jasper." I nodded, feeling a slight happiness that Elizabeth still my name. Then Alice came to my rescue. "Elizabeth! I'm so glad you could stop by! We girls need another opinion with some details for Renesmee's wedding!" She gushed, grabbing Beth's hand and taking off. I leaned against the wall in relief that I was out of that awkward situation, and in sadness because, well, would you like introducing yourself to your daughter? Emmett patted my shoulder. "Sorry, bro." He whispered. I closed my eyes in acknowledgement, and Emmett sighed and walked off. When I was sure he was gone, I slid down the wall and sat, miserably staring at my hands. Rosalie joined me. "It will work out in the end, you'll see." She said quietly, putting her hand on my shoulder. "Oh, Rosalie." I moaned, looking at her. We stood, and Rose smiled at me. "Jasper, remember that we love you." She told me before walking away. I sighed and wandered to Nessie's bedroom, where all the wedding planning was taking place. I poked my head in. "How's it going, girls?" I asked, seeing a circle of female vampires and a sleepy-looking Renesmee in a circle on the floor, surrounded by magazines, a few wedding catalogues, and my laptop. "Oh, it's going wonderfully!" They chorused. "Mm-hmm. Okay, enjoy your planning. And be careful with my laptop!" I said with a mock growl, narrowing my eyes. Then I left, going to the living room and poking my head in. Emmett was working on a card mansion, looking like he was concentrating very hard. I stayed for a moment, soaking in his happy, almost-content emotions, then left. Carlisle had already left for work, Edward was playing piano out on the back porch, Jake was around here somewhere snoring, and I didn't know where Eleazar and Garrett were. I had wandered upstairs when Edward stopped playing and suddenly appeared in front of me. "Yes, Edward?" I asked, somewhat confused. Edward and I didn't talk much, and a lot of the time when we did talk we ended up arguing. "There's three shape shifters heading this way fast, and judging from their thoughts, I really don't think they mean to come and chat, if you get my meaning." He murmured. I groaned. "Couldn't they have chosen a better day? At least there's only three. Edward, stay inside and make sure everyone else does, too." I told him, already on my way to the yard. They soon appeared. These had taken the shape of very big, very ugly, polar bears. How subtle. They were confused to find only me out there, but they walked forward until we were only a few yards away from each other. _ The one in the center is going to be the hardest to drive off. The one on the right is going to be as easy as fallin' off a log and the one on the left will take a little work. The main problem is that there are three of them, one of me, and those choppers are lethal. Well, here we go._ I thought. The brute in the middle was charging. I jumped over him, landed on front of the one on the right, punched him on the nose, then ducked and ran to my right. The one in the middle's teeth snapped where my head had just been, and I kicked him in the shoulder. The one on the left jumped over the big brute, and I stepped forward, grabbed is throat and slammed him to the ground on his back, jumped to the right and broke one of the smallest one's back legs. He helped the one I'd slammed to the ground get up, and they ran off. I was left with the big brute, and I was intact. Much better, but still bad. We circled each other for about five minutes, and then he pounced. I was caught off guard and he landed on me. I kept his teeth from closing around my throat with my hands, and head butted him in the nose, surprising him. I threw my weight up, intending to throw him off, which I did – Only, he took my left hand with him. I growled in pain, trying to keep as quiet as possible, and threw myself at the bear, punched him in the stomach with my right hand, then grabbed my hand as he dropped it when he opened his jaws wide, trying to get air. I kicked him in the ribs again, and he gave up, finally. I waited until he was definitely gone before attaching my hand and going inside, where I was greeted with Edward, who nodded at me. He'd kept the girls distracted, thank goodness, although Emmett apparently hadn't been into his card mansion enough. He grinned. "Nice fight, bro!" He said, slapping me on the back, and then he wandered back to his cards. I quietly chuckled and left the room. I wandered to my room, and sat on the floor, just thinking. It really did hurt that Elizabeth had no idea who I was. I sighed and leaned against my wall. I shut my eyes and acknowledged the presence of someone who was slightly worried, nervous, and a little repentant. It was Elizabeth. I opened my eyes and stood. "Is there something I can do for you?" I asked. "I just wanted to know if you could explain this." She replied, handing me a piece of folded yellowed paper. I unfolded it and what do you know, there was me. "A passing artist drew it and gave it to your mother." I said dully if you want a response, handing it back to her. "But how did you know my mother?" She asked. Now she was suspicious. "Bethy, haven't you figured it out yet?" I asked, calling her by the name her mother and I used to use. I picked up the drawing that Alice had let on my dresser and handed it to her. "The same artist drew this for me." She smiled. "Daddy?" She asked, and I smiled back. "Who else would I be?" She ran to me and flung her arms around me. I hugged her back, and laughed. I picked her up and twirled her happily, enjoying her girlish laughter. When I put her down, Beth hugged me again. "Daddy." She repeated happily, hugging me again. "I'm here, darlin'." I murmured. She was ecstatic, and so was I. . . . And so was everyone who was listening on the other side of the door_. _"Alice, Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Bella, Edward, Renesmee, Kate, Tanya, Carmen, Eleazar, Garrett, I know you're there!" I said. They filed in, unashamed of their oh-so-obvious eavesdropping. _But then, _I reflected as we all hugged, _they sure as hell wouldn't be family._

**A/N: So? What do think of the way Beth and Jasper come out to each other? It took me three hours to find a way that **_**I **_**liked and could live with, so you'd better! Nah, I'm kidding. Just let me know. I appreciate every review, favorite, and follow that this story gets, and I try to respond personally to every possible review, and thank you for taking the time to read my story, and review. (Guests, please leave a name, even if it's just 'Anonymous' if you want a response) Yeah, I'll shut up now.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Chapter four already! Now, a question: Should I keep on doing the chapters like I have been, relaying the last chapter (That was in Jasper's POV) in Beth's POV, and then adding a little (Or a lot)? Let me know in a review!  
>DISCLAIMER: *Bored voice* I don't own Twilight. Or the characters of Twilight. All I own is a few OCs<strong>.** Okay? Okay.**

The door opened, and he was right there. Jasper stepped aside to let me in, and he said, "Hello. I don't believe we were formally introduced. I'm Jasper Cullen; it's a pleasure to meet you." My eyes flickered to the paper in my hand and I replied, "I'm Elizabeth Whitlock. It's nice to meet you, Jasper." _Was that a small flicker of happiness in his eyes? Whatever it was, it vanished quickly._ I thought, but just then, Alice came up to me. "Elizabeth! I'm so glad you could stop by! We need another opinion on some details for Renesmee's wedding!" She said enthusiastically, grabbing my hand and taking off. I smiled at the little pixie – No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop thinking of Alice as a pixie, although I wouldn't tell her that – and went along. I heard Emmett whisper, "Sorry, bro." and looked back – Jasper was leaning against the wall with a slightly pained expression on his face, his eyes closed. Rosalie brushed past me, clearly heading for the now sitting down vampire.

Alice started chattering about bridesmaid's dresses then, so I figured I'd better pay attention. She hauled me up a flight of stairs and opened a door. "Get up, Nessie! Time to plan for the wed-ding!" She sang cheerfully, ripping the covers off the sleeping half human. "I now regret asking you to plan my wedding, Auntie Alice." Renesmee mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Good morning, Elizabeth." She said sleepily as Alice walked to the door, disappearing, coming back in about thirty seconds with the other females in the house and wedding magazines, catalogues, and a laptop balanced in a stack. "I found this lovely flower arrangement earlier, and I thought we could make something like it!" She said enthusiastically, dumping the magazines and catalogues on the floor, but gently placing the laptop down. We all sat down on the floor and made ourselves comfortable as Alice picked up a magazine and flipped to page thirty eight. "Here!" She trilled, placing the magazine on the floor. It was a picture of a combination of white roses, red roses, a few blue hydrangea balls (Who knew, right?), and pink carnations. It _was_ gorgeous, and Renesmee loved it. We looked at a few more flower arrangements, then the door opened and Jasper poked his head in. "How's it going, girls?" He asked, taking in the room. "Oh, it's going wonderfully!" We all said at the same time. I blinked, slightly surprised. "Mm-hmm. Okay, enjoy your planning. And be careful with my laptop!" He said with a playful growl, narrowing his eyes. When he left, I smiled, and Alice looked at the computer. "Him and his laptop." She said, shaking her head before reaching over and grabbing one of the catalogues. "Are you awake enough to look at dresses yet, Ness?" She asked, then waited for Renesmee's nod before flipping to the section marked 'Bridesmaids.'

"Who are your bridesmaids, Renesmee?" I asked. "Call me Nessie or Ness, Elizabeth. And my bridesmaids are some girls from Jake's reservation." She told me warmly. I smiled at her. "I'll call you Nessie of you call me Beth, deal?" She smiled back and nodded. I noticed Edward stopped playing piano, but didn't think anything of it. Nessie and I stepped out for a moment, since Ness wanted to check on Jake and wake him up. I waited outside the door while Renesmee got Jake up (And heard a few things that made me want to gag). When we were going back to Nessie's room, we stopped to chat a little about Forks - Renesmee was amazed that I had lived there for about three days. Then Alice appeared in Renesmee's doorway. "Renesmee! We're planning _your_ wedding – Don't you want a say? If you don't come here _right now _I'll make your dress neon pink!" She threatened, tapping her toe. Nessie bolted to her room. "Coming! And Aunt Alice, if you make my dress neon pink I'll ruin all your Gucci!" I heard her tell Alice, who  
>laughed. "Okay, okay!" She said, disappearing into Renesmee's room once more. I smiled and shook my head – Alice was definitely a clothes and fashion freak. As long she didn't use me as her guinea pig, I was fine with it, though.<p>

Since I wasn't in the mood to look at more dresses and flowers, I started wandering around. I peeked into the living room and saw Emmett, happily making this huge card house. In fact, it was more like a card mansion. Edward was playing his piano again, and I walked out to watch him play. He smiled at me. "I composed this for Bella when we first met." He told me, finishing the song and starting over. "It's beautiful." I told him. He smiled, and the door opened behind me. I turned and Bella was there. She smiled at me, and said, "Actually, that's not quite true. At least, I don't think it is." Edward laughed, still playing. "Okay, I composed it after that one week that I tried to run from you, my singer." He amended. I quietly left, smiling at the sound of the pair teasing each other. Rosalie was helping Emmett now, and I stopped to watch. "It looks great, Emmett, Rose." I commented. Emmett grinned at me. "Thanks, Elizabeth." Rose smiled and opened up another pack. Carlisle walked in, and smiled at them. _People here sure do smile a lot. _I thought. "So, how many packs of cards have you used so far?" Carlisle asked. "This is the twenty third." Emmett said absently as he started building a tower off one corner. "Did the hospital not need you today, Carlisle?" Rosalie asked, just as absent sounding as she started another wing, the east one, I think. "They didn't desperately need me, so I decided to come home and spend the day with my wonderful family." He said as Esme walked in and kissed him on the cheek. "That's wonderful news." She said warmly.

_Alice must have decided to let everyone off from wedding planning for now,_ I realized as I walked away, peeking out a window. Renesmee was riding on the back of a giant russet-colored wolf, laughing. "Nessie still enjoys riding on Jake, I see." Alice said, watching with me with a smile on her pixie-ish face. "Okay, what's their story, because it just seems really weird?" I finally asked. Alice grinned. "It was about fifty years ago when Ness was born and Bella changed. Well, long story short, Edward and Jacob were the ones who delivered Renesmee, Jacob imprinted on her when he saw her, and it saved our lives. See, the wolves were going to kill her because we had no idea what she was like, and we were prepared to fight. But no wolf can touch another wolf's imprinter. Edward and Bella weren't happy about it, but it couldn't be helped. Imprinting is kind of complicated to explain, but it's sort of like the way we vampires have mates, but it's magnified. Does that help, Beth?" She explained, and I nodded, flipping my blonde hair back over my shoulder. That made sense, sort of. I wandered away again, going up the stairs and wandering down the hall.

I reached the end, turned around, and saw Jasper through one of the open doors. He sitting down and leaning against the wall, a pained expression on his features. I stood in his doorway, a little worried about him. Jasper rearranged his features into the more neutral mask-like expression that I was more used to, except for when he was around Alice; he smiled and seemed more open and happy around the little pixie. I felt a little repentant that I hadn't mentioned anything earlier, but it just hadn't seemed like a good time. Jasper opened his eyes and stood, asking if there was something he could do for me. "I just wanted to know if you could explain this." I said, handing him the drawing. He opened it and looked at it for a moment. "A passing artist drew it." He said in a dull tone of voice, handing it back to me. _Well, could you explain why my mother thought you so important?! _ I raged in my mind, half my brain already knowing, but I needed to ask anyways. "How did you know my mother?" I asked suspiciously. "Bethy, haven't you figured it out yet?" Jasper asked, seeming a little exasperated. That was the name my mother used called me.

"The same artist drew this for me." He was saying, picking up a piece of paper in the same condition as mine off his dresser and handing it to me. I looked at it; it was a picture of my mother holding me; I guesstimated I was about one, which was about how old I'd been when Jasper, my father, disappeared. A slow smile spread across my face as I asked, "Daddy?" I'd always wanted to know my father, to call him Daddy. Now I could, and I was so happy. He nodded. "Who else would I be?" Jasper asked, smiling. I ran to him and hugged him hard, and he hugged me back, pausing to pick me up and twirl me around in the air. I laughed in pure delight, hugging Jasper, my daddy, again when he put me down. "Daddy." I repeated softly, ecstatic. "I'm here, darlin'." He murmured back, wrapping his strangely scarred arms around me.  
>I smiled at his Southern accent, raising an eyebrow as he called, "Alice, Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Bella, Edward, Renesmee, Jake, Kate, Tanya, Carmen, Eleazar, Garrett, I know you're there!" They walked in the door, smiling and, I noticed, completely and totally unashamed. We all hugged, Jasper, Alice, and I ending up in the middle. We were all smiling and laughing, although the Denali men were much more subdued for some reason; Eleazar was even glaring at me, and I bit my lip, suddenly doubting that I was welcome after all. But before I knew it, a wave of calm and happiness washed over me. I knew everything was going to be alright, and I also knew what Jasper was doing. Eleazar's glare even disappeared, replaced by a forced smile. I laughed, turning around to find myself face-to-back-of-head with Alice. <em>Oh, dear. How is Alice going to take this? <em> I wondered, before deciding that I'd worry about it later. There was plenty of time, after all.

When we finished our group hug, we migrated down the living room, still laughing and talking as we sat down out of habit. Garrett and Eleazar disappeared somewhere, and I honestly couldn't care less. If they didn't like me that was their problem, not mine. I was interrupted from my brooding when Alice walked over to me. "Care to walk with me?" She offered. I was a little nervous, but Jasper caught my eye from across the room and smiled reassuringly at me, probably indicating I should go with her. Besides it would be rude to refuse. "Sure." I replied, standing up. I followed her out the door, and walked for a bit, until we were out of hearing range. Alice stopped then, and looked around. She nodded in a satisfied-like way. "Elizabeth-'' She started to say, then I interrupted. "Please, Alice, call me Beth." I smiled a little half smile, and she returned it. "Okay, Beth then. Beth, do you know what my biggest regret has been for years, more so the last fifty since Renesmee has been born?" She asked. I was confused. "Um, no, I don't. . ." I replied, giving Alice an 'Are you crazy?' look that she ignored. "Beth, my biggest regret has been that I can't give Jasper a child. I know he adores kids, I've seen him watch them with that half smile of his on his face. Jazzy was basically Renesmee's older brother when she was little. They've grown apart a little now that she's older, but they're still very, very close." Alice paused, letting that sink in.

"Beth, you have no idea just how happy I was – And still am – when Jasper told us last night that you're his daughter. I almost jumped for joy. I know I'm not your mother, and I know I can never replace her (And I don't want to, believe me), but I really, really don't want to be the evil stepmom in this scenario. We _are _married, you know." She told me. I stared at her, the only words I could find to say was, "Wait, you two are married?" Stupid, I know. But I was a little stunned, to tell you the truth. Alice rolled her eyes. "Of course we are!" She chirped, holding up her left hand. There was a platinum ring with a small diamond in the middle on her ring finger, and a small, simple, golden wedding band. I blinked, still surprised. "Alice, you're right. You couldn't replace my mother, but then, no one ever could – Or should. I don't want you to be the evil stepmother either, so let's just see how it goes?" I suggested, choosing my words carefully. Alice nodded. "Sounds like a good plan to me! Now come on, let's get back." She trilled, high and fast. I nodded, and we raced back – Alice won, surprisingly.

I opened the front door and almost ran into Emmett, who laughed at me. "So now that you're a part of the family, squirt, does this mean-'' He was interrupted by Alice. "Em, no. Don't even think about it." She glared at him, and Emmett laughed again. "Okay, okay. Easy, little sis." He walked off somewhere and Alice shook her head in an exasperated like way. We walked to the living room and were in the doorway when Alice froze, her eyes glazing over. She perked up almost immediately, and announced. "It's going to storm tomorrow night. Who's up for some baseball?" That surprised me – Baseball? However, they all looked enthusiastic enough. "Beth, do you play?" Esme asked me. "Um, no. . . I've never seen the point of running after balls." I admitted. Esme smiled, "Neither do me and Bella. We usually referee!" I laughed. "But I do get sucked in from time to time." Bella said, appearing on my other side. Esme smiled. "And you enjoy playing every once in a while, you know you do." She said, and Bella nodded, laughing. Esme and I laughed too.  
>Edward and Emmett seemed to be getting into an argument about fruit bats an hour o so later. I was about to go over when Jasper had a hand on each of their shoulders and Emmett smiled and nodded, listening to him, but Edward snorted and strode away, Rosalie following. Then they started arguing – About the silliest thing possible, whether they should use the clearing to the east or the one to the south, respectively, for the game tomorrow night – and Esme said "Oh, take it outside you two!" as one of Rosalie's hands gestures came awfully close to a pretty lamp. The base was decorated with cardinals, topped with a simple cream colored shade, and it looked pretty pricey. The pair booth huffed and stomped outside, where they promptly began arguing again. Esme sighed and shook her head. "Those two are always arguing about something!" She muttered. Then the arguing stopped with a sound like someone had punched the other, although whether it was Edward or Rosalie I wasn't sure. We all jumped up and hurried outside, Bella and Emmett each going forward and trying to separate the snarling pair, but only managing to get themselves drawn in. Jasper tried next, but for once no one paid any attention to my father or his gift, and he went down to try to separate the squabbling vampires, but the same thing happened. Alice, Esme, Carlisle and I all tried together, asking, pleading, and in my case, using brutal force, but I got kicked in the face by Edward, saw Alice get slapped by Rose. Esme and Carlisle were already among the pile of Cullens. I started busily giving Edward a piece of my mind, screaming insults at him and I kicked <em>him<em> in the face, earning myself a punch from a growling Bella, and I went ahead and tackled her, yanking on her hair before I was grabbed by Edward and tossed, slamming into a tree and breaking the poor thing in half, but I stood back and plunged back in. It was right about then that we started having fun just punching and kicking one another. We were all in a little ball, it seemed like, but I didn't care. I could hear Jasper laughing, Alice and Emmett colliding, Rose was grinning, and it was awesome. I was just glad that it was overcast – Maybe the people down in Denali would think that there was a thunderstorm or something up here.

**A/N: Okay, okay, I know it's short! I'm sorry! I got sick, and I had writer's block! I'm sorry for the wait! But I also had another story idea, plus I needed to plan for chapter five (Which is special, but a surprise! One reviewer knows but is sworn to secrecy!) And I'm really, really sorry it's short. Please review if you think it's any good.**


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